Harrison Ridley Jr.

Harrison Ridley Jr. (October 22, 1938 – February 19, 2009) was a teacher and broadcaster.

Ridley taught music history at Temple University and Villanova University. He was the host of a radio show on WRTI (90.1 FM) entitled, The Historical Approach to the Positive Music The "historical approach" Ridley took was to focus on one musician per show, sometimes on a specific period in the musician's career. The show ran for more than thirty years and was popular in Philadelphia. Ridley would often say that his phone lines in the studio were full of calls. Local jazz musicians had been known to call in during a show as well.

Ridley was also a record collector and archivist. In the course of fifty years of collecting, he amassed over 8,500 LPs, 3,000 78s, 200 45s, 300 CDs, and 6,000 books on African American history and music. He specialized in Duke Ellington albums (he had more than 600) and Benny Carter (he had 200 Benny Carter albums).^[1]

Ridley was a mechanical and building engineer for the Philadelphia School District for 39 years. He visited schools to teach students, parents, and staff about jazz. He did not use the term "jazz," opting instead for "this music referred to as jazz," or simply, "the positive music."

Ridley received more than 80 awards, including recognition from the Philadelphia City Hall and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and an honorary Doctorate in Music from Villanova University (given in May 2008). He also worked as a consultant for the Library of Congress. Dubbed a "walking encyclopedia of jazz,"^[2] Ridley was in great demand on radio and television shows. He was also an archivist for the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts.^[3]

Ridley died on February 19, 2009, some weeks after a stroke.

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